Ecliptica
by 0bsidian Sky
Summary: Space age romance featuring Tegan and Sara and original characters. Alternate Universe;Not Quincest. Trigger warnings.


Ecliptica

Chapter 1

"_So now I must say goodbye_

_I'm thinking of you as the stars fly by_

_I've lost control and I'm falling fast,_

_through the great unknown and into the vast_

_I close my eyes and I hold on."_

_Starfields_ by I Will Never Be The Same

Space was cold and quiet. Billions upon billions of stars occupied the vast blackness that existed beyond the reinforced glass windows of the observation deck of the federated transport ship known as the Dark Star. Standing there alone, First Lieutenant Dresden Lucas surveyed the endless sea of star fields, massive galaxies and countless constellations. A thin smirk moved across her contoured lips when another federated ship slid into view off the port side and then shot into space too fast for her hazel eyes to follow. She rubbed her cold hands together and waited patiently. Soon it would be her turn. She loved flying. It was what she lived for. At twenty-three, she had already seen more of the universe that existed beyond the stars than most people her age had even dared to dream. She had been recruited by the United One World Federation in her senior year of high school and after scoring high on the entrance exam, she was placed in the flight program.

"Lieutenant, we're up," uttered a soft male voice from behind her. She inhaled deeply as she turned and began walking toward the soldier. This was her first actual wartime mission. Their orders were to transport combat soldiers to the war-torn Balka Region for an on-planet deployment of ground forces to fight the Skions, or 'Warp Lizards' as the federated military commonly called them.

"Thank you, Airman. Prepare for launch," Lieutenant Lucas said and gave him a warm smile as she slipped past the soldier and made her way down the illuminated blue passage as an automated female voice filled the ship with a repetitious message:

"_Attention Dark Star crew members: Report to your designated launch stations and follow procedures for 'hyper launch' in T-Minus twenty minutes and counting." _

Dresden was greeted by her flight crew as she entered the cockpit. The usually chatty bunch was quiet which meant the gravity of the situation; the perilous mission that awaited them was weighing on their minds. She exchanged a long glance and a warm smile with a fellow female flight officer and gave a tender squeeze to the top of her shoulder as she brushed past her and moved to the pilot's seat to strap in.

"No big deal, Annaliese," she said, noticing her friend's apprehension and put her helmet on as her chair automatically moved her in toward the controls. It wasn't like the crew was blind. They knew she and Annaliese were together. She made adjustments to the controls using the holographic touch screen that originated from the instrument panel in front of her and rubbed the shark tooth necklace around her neck that was mingled in with her dog tags. After a moment of mental preparation, she began the preflight checklist.

"Are we ready?" She asked, looking over at her co-pilot. "Powering up primary flight systems." She glanced at the screen that showed the man sitting directly behind her.

"Navigator, lock in the coordinates." She pressed a button that initiated the release sequence. "Begin countdown on my mark." She spoke into the built-in mouthpiece in her helmet close to the chin protector. "This is First Lieutenant Lucas. In a few moments, we'll be commencing our run. Troop deployment will take place on the far side of Planet Hilo-181. The trajectory map should be up on your retina screens. We'll have immediate dust off after touchdown so, get to clearance following dispersal. Godspeed, soldiers." She glanced back at Annaliese and gave her a thumbs up sign then put on her game face. "Mark."

The co-pilot readied all supportive flight systems and he glanced over at Dresden and received a nod from her, indicating she was ready. "Launch is in one minute and counting. LT has the bridge," he advised the crew.

Sara stood alone by a red shimmering fountain. Oxygen-enriched liquid beads descended from black granite-like sculptures that were carved into the encompassing walls of the expansive room. Their vermillion hue was softly illuminated by dim overhead lighting, giving off the appearance of a river of blood. Since the death of her parents and her lover, she often kept herself immersed in solitude. After suffering such a loss, inheriting control of an entire armada seemed more of an inconvenience than an honor and it had proven itself to be a rather daunting task. Sara heard the slight whisper of an electronic door opening and her dark deep-set eyes flickered in the scant light as she averted her gaze. Her exquisitely-sculpted jaw line became slightly accentuated when she turned to see her identical twin sister stealthily approaching. Tegan was immaculately dressed in formal Auxurian military attire and as calm as the night, as always.

"Your collar," Tegan's voice was like warm silk as she used her fingertips to gently fasten the clasps on Sara's high-collared elegant militarist coat.

"Why do you always have such a self-assured look on your face?" Sara asked of her slightly older sister and lifted her eyes to look at her face. "Never mind. Listen. I've made a decision. I want you to assume control over our forces. I'm not up to it." She hated to admit defeat if any kind, but the events of late had left her quite broken to the core.

Tegan shook her head softly. "You know I can't, Sara," Mom and Dad chose you. They believe in you and so do I. It was their wish. It's a huge responsibility, but they knew you could do it and that I would remain at your side, just like always." She leaned in and kissed her sister's cheek and then took a hold of her hand. "Come on. The counsel is waiting for you to make some decisions."

Sara rolled her eyes slightly and bit into her lower lip as she was dragged from her chambers by her sister. Things had been so easy when her parents were alive. Born into Auxurian royalty to a world of privilege and honor, into a society that practiced hedonism, everything was handed to her and until now, the decisions she had to worry with involved only herself and the daily things that brought her pleasure and comfort.

When the siblings entered the room, they were greeted by their advisers with a militaristic salute, where one's right arm is crossed up over the chest at a forty-five degree angle, with palm open, facing inward and fingers together and extended.

Sara saluted back before being seated at the head of an oblong black glass table. A servant poured a bright green liquid into a small clear cylinder for her as the briefing began. An orb ascended from the center of the glass conference table and morphed into a large cubed screen where crystal clear video footage played on all sides. It showed clips of the war between the Earth forces and the Skions, a nomadic reptilian race who pillaged and plundered resources of all kinds, and how their war was affecting Auxurian mining operations in the Balka Region. Sara was no stranger to war. Her race was bent on self-preservation by way of manifest destiny, expansion and domination of other races that deemed a threat to the Auxurian way of life. Over time, they gained a reputation throughout the known universe and became the most powerful and revered. With their ability to master elemental forces, superior technology and sheer strength in numbers, they could easily end worlds. That was the legacy Sara's parents had left for her and Tegan. They were humanoid in looks, but their intelligence, genetic code and emotional spectrum far surpassed that of humans. They were, in general, a selfish people; with narcissistic traits and often suppressed their emotions. They were elemental in spirit and most possessed hyper-sensitive abilities. Sara rose from her chair and sighed as she collected her thoughts.

"It's a simple solution. The mining in that region is essential to our way of life so, we must defend it."

One of the advisers stood and changed the screen display to show one of three of the larger planets on the outer fringe of the Balka Region. "This is Zeltus. One of six primary sources in this region for the essential mineral, Kymeridium, which as you know, is the very corner stone of our entire empire. Presently, the Skions have set up an offensive stronghold there."

Sara glanced at her sister for a moment and then nodded softly. "Obliterate the stronghold." She was still holding onto a lot of anger over the death of so many loved ones, especially since her parents had been killed as a result of the war between the Skions and Humans, a war that was not even theirs. The meeting adjourned when she turned and walked toward the door. Another adviser interjected before she reached the threshold.

"Madame Quin, if you please. Earth forces also have ships in that region. "Other than minor territorial disputes, we have no quarrels with the people of Earth. What, if anything shall we do to minimize human casualties." Sara stopped and turned to address the military counsel.

"Focus the assault on the Skions, but give our forces permission to engage Earth's forces if it's mission essential. They are the cause of this unrest. They're primitive and cannot yet master the power of their own elements, yet they spread themselves around like they own the galaxy. It's high time they learn who the apex predators of space really are. Launch the assault." With that, she left the room and silence remained in her wake.

As soon as the last Armored Personal Carrier was off the ship, Dresden maneuvered the Dark Star off of the landing grid and back into the atmosphere, leaving the mining planet behind.

"Payload deployment complete. Dark Star clear, but taking on heavy enemy anti-space craft fire. Returning to Helix Station," Dresden advised the control center back at base and piloted the ship away from the war zone, doing her best to evade getting them hit by the C-Beam weapons. The ship was shaking from the enemy weapons and no one would relax until they were safely in hyper drive. Out of nowhere the ship's collision alarm went off.

"There's nothing on the monitors. I can't see anything!" Dresden said, looking out the port side. "Port side clear," she added and looked to her co-pilot, who removed his harness and got up to physically look out the starboard side. "Talk to me, Mathis."

"We're clear," he said, but the alert persisted and the ship's computerized voice came on.

"Warning. Collision eminent. Starship, class six, five miles and narrowing. Evasive maneuvers are advised."

"She's picking up on our ship. This has to be a computer glitch," Annaliese said.

"Nothing behind us on below us, there's nothing," Mathis, the co-pilot chimed in.

"Mathis, get your harness back on," Dresden ordered him and then looked a the main computer screen in the center of the console. "Nova, the class six Starship that you're warning us about, is it Dark Star?" she asked.

Nova responded immediately. "Negative, Lieutenant Lucas. It is the Fox Fire."

Hearing that, Dresden's eyes widened and panic seized her entire body. She pushed gray button that lowered a shop so she could see above them. Through the scope, she saw a Goliath-sized mass plummeting right toward them. "Mathis, get strapped in now!" she ordered. "Taking evasive maneuvers." She moved the ship down and to the right suddenly and kept flying until the alarm ceased. She exhaled as she brought them to a stop and they opened the shutters to see. To everyone's surprise, their sister ship, the Fox Fire was inverted and on fire, going down at a near ninety degree angle by the bow. Parts of it were blown off and it looked like a gigantic glowing black ember set against the serene backdrop of space.

"Fox Fire, come in! Have you any survivors?" Dresden asked and anxiously awaited as her co-piloted reported to base. There was no answer from the Fox Fire; just eerily silent static.

Suddenly three Skion ships appeared on the screen and as Dresden prepared for defensive counters, the three ships pivoted and began firing in the opposite direction. A much larger ship came into view. It was an Auxurian attack ship and it was engaging the three Skion ships, just off their starboard side bow.

"We're in their crossfire. Prepare for emergency hyper drive," Dresden said and made some calibrations on the screen. They felt the explosion shockwave as two of the Skion ships were destroyed and she watched the last remaining one move up close to their position, as if seeking a shield. She knew that it was unlikely an Auxurian ship would fire on them, but it was not an ideal situation to be in.

"LT?" The co-pilot asked with uncertainty.

Dresden glanced at him. "Don't worry, Mathis. They won't fire on us." As soon as she said that, there was a burst of light from the Auxurian ship, followed by an intense explosion and then severe shaking and some sort of collision. A tremendous pressure was felt and she could hear the muffled screams of her crew before she blacked out.

When Dresden's sienna eyes opened, she saw her shark tooth and dog tags floating up in front of her helmet, which had a crack in the visor portion that obstructed her line of sight. She had been knocked unconscious from the attack. The sonic force of the explosion decimated the Dark Star and soon, she realized that the ship's hull must have been breached with the loss of pressure in the cockpit. There was pain radiating all through her body, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. She spoke, but couldn't hear her own voice. Everything was silent. Disoriented, she screamed, looking for her flight crew. "Annaliese!" She called, but couldn't get her harness off. When she looked for her friend, she realized the young woman was dead, having been impaled by a piece of debris. Small round gobules of her blood floated weightlessly in the zero gravity compartment and Dresden reached up to touch them and when she did, the liquid beads broke open and blood smeared across her hand. Tears began spilling down her cheeks as she screamed loudly and slammed the side of her fist against the titanium reinforced panel beside her.

"Mayday! Mayday! Does anyone read!?" She called into her mouthpiece, fighting back more tears. It was difficult to see and speak. She had failed her crew, failed their entire fleet and Annaliese was gone; it had all been lost. Suddenly, a collision alarm went off, blinking violently onscreen and she realized that the entire ship had become inverted and was headed straight for their sister ship. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" she called again, sending her distress call out into empty space. "This is First Lietenent Dresden Lucas of transport vessel, Dark Star. We've been attacked. Hull is breached, cannot maintain control, collision eminent." She looked to her right and saw the copilot was also lifeless, having suffocated when his helmet was breached and the oxygen had been sucked out of the cabin. "Communications are down. Status of the crew is unknown at this time, but I think they're dead." As realization of her situation became clear, she took a breath and then spoke in an even voice as her ship neared the other vessel. "On behalf of the Dark Star crew, we died in pursuit of the greater good for all humanity, under God." She braced for impact as every bone in her body vibrated. It was actually painful to hold the controls steady so she let go and crossed her arms over her chest, and closed her eyes.


End file.
